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☆ 9 psychedelics startups that are winning over top venture investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Generally, mainstream investors have avoided companies developing psychedelic compounds. Despite raising hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to develop psychedelic compounds like psilocybin through clinical trials, startups operating in the space have struggled to gain momentum among biotech investors and other venture firms. However, a handful of companies have successfully garnered funding and interest from mainstream investors. Psychedelics companies, including Atai Life Sciences, Compass Pathways, and Mindset Pharma have all received backing from Otsuka, a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Here are the psychedelics startups that have won over mainstream investors, listed in alphabetical order:

☆ Sam Altman didn't take any equity in OpenAI, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Altman, president of Y Combinator, pauses during the New Work Summit in Half Moon Bay, California, U.S., on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Altman didn't take an equity stake in the company when it added the for-profit OpenAI LP entity in 2019, Semafor reported Friday. OpenAI launched as a non-profit model in 2015 with backing from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who committed $1 billion to OpenAI, Semafor reported. But Musk was unhappy with OpenAI's growth, which he assessed as "fatally behind" Google 's work in AI, Semafor reported. 2019, OpenAI took a $1 billion investment from Microsoft , which has since embedded the company's technologies into its products.

☆ Y Combinator-backed headless commerce startup Vue Storefront just raised $20 million with this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Y Combinator-backed Vue Storefront has developed a frontend system for e-commerce sites. Vue Storefront, a Y Combinator-backed startup that aims to improve customers' experiences with e-commerce sites, just raised $20 million in fresh funds. The Polish company, founded in 2020, has built a plug-and-play frontend system for marketplace sites. This is what customers see and interact with, rather than the behind-the-scenes backend system, and is known as "headless commerce". Vue Storefront is rooted in open-source development, having spun out from a design agency.

☆ Deel Speed: The inside story of a $12 billion HR startup's breakneck growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Insider spoke with more than 30 current or former Deel workers about the HR company's extraordinary rise, and the unconventional tactics that made it possible. "I think if you talk to anyone, they would say that Alex is the face but all decisions run through Phillipe," one former Deel worker told Insider. "They lose every employment and labor protection," Valerio De Stefano, a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, said of independent contractors. Alex Bouaziz, Deel on Centre Stage during day two of Collision 2022 at Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada. The company didn't have an internal human-resources team until sometime in 2021, by which point it had grown to hundreds of people.

Greg Becker, who was the longtime CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, pictured last year. "Looks like Silicon Valley Bank is in some deep shit," Uncommon Capital general partner Jamie Quint tweeted. Startup founders scrambled to get their funds out of Silicon Valley Bank after its collapse. Andreessen Horowitz announced this week that it will continue banking with Silicon Valley Bank "for the foreseeable future" but is crafting a longer-term plan to diversify. Even so, he added, "I think we'd be supportive, as they stabilize, for them to be one of many partners that our founders bank with."

☆ Tech pressure, Yellen everywhere: How Washington scrambled as SVB collapsed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Yellen heads to the White House, Brainard meets with her staff and holds Zoom calls in her wood-paneled office in the West Wing. Treasury staff hustle to get Yellen on CBS News' "Face the Nation" program on Sunday, in an attempt to reassure markets. White House officials draft news releases with various scenarios, uncertain until shortly before 6 p.m. if an acquisition can still happen. As he leaves Delaware to return to the White House, Biden tells reporters he will make a statement on Monday. Treasury and White House officials reach out to members of Congress and their staffs throughout the evening to explain the plan, with discussions continuing into Monday.

☆ The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank foreshadows a bigger reckoning for the tech industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In the days since the stunning collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, I've seen the tech world point a lot of fingers. Silicon Valley Bank imploded in part because it was a repository for the riskiest behaviors of the industry it serviced. In spite of this reality, there has been little self-reflection on the part of the industry that was so closely tied to Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank thrived on these trends. But to grow at the breakneck speed of its clients, Silicon Valley Bank executives had to change things in Washington.

☆ A Silicon Valley Bank VP, whose grandmother and aunt also worked at the bank, said he's 'heartbroken' for startups affected by its implosion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A vice president at Silicon Valley Bank said he is "heartbroken" for startups affected by its collapse. JP Giannini said both his grandmother and his aunt had previously worked at the bank. Silicon Valley Bank's implosion on Friday sent shockwaves through the tech sector. Palo Alto-based Giannini said Silicon Valley Bank played an important role in his family for over 30 years, with both his grandmother and aunt also working there. At age 10, Giannini attended company picnics with his grandmother when she was still working at the bank, per Silicon Valley Bank's website.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's spectacular implosion shows how digital banking can decimate a lender in 24 hours
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Silicon Valley Bank's rapid implosion showed how bank runs can go at warp speed in the digital age. But while digital banking meant SVB's collapse accelerated to warp speed, its foundations had been left shaky. Digital banking, and the expectation of instantaneous transactions, is now the norm for the internet generation. Bianco said SVB's collapse should "scare the hell" out of bankers and regulators worldwide. Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, an independent financial adviser, said SVB's collapse had brought Trump-era deregulation into question.

☆ The tech industry avoided an ‘extinction-level event,’ but it’s not unscathed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —For much of the weekend, Silicon Valley scrambled to find a way through what one prominent tech investor described as an “extinction-level event for startups” after the collapse of a top lender in the industry. “You can feel the collective *sigh*,” Ryan Hoover, a tech founder and investor wrote on Twitter Sunday. SVB’s collapse also risks changing how the world, and prospective recruits, think of Silicon Valley. The bank worked with nearly half of all venture-backed tech and healthcare companies in the United States. President Joe Biden emphasized in remarks Monday that “no losses will be borne by the taxpayers” related to the government’s intervention for Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Y Combinator pulls back from late-stage startup investing to focus on its core accelerator program, and parts ways with 17 employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Y Combinator president Garry Tan announced the accelerator is moving away from late-stage investing. The startup accelerator will also eliminate 17 roles on the late-stage investing team. Known for its early-stage investing focus through its core accelerator program, YC also does late-stage investing. "But late stage investing turned out to be so different from early stage that we found it to be a distraction from our core mission. As part of the restructuring, 17 employees on the late-stage investing teams had their roles eliminated, Tan wrote in the post.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. authorities were preparing “material action” on Sunday to shore up deposits in Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and stem any broader financial fallout from its sudden collapse, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Biden administration officials worked through the weekend to assess the impact of startup-focused lender SVB Financial Group’s failure on Friday, with a particular eye on the venture capital sector and regional banks, the sources said. REUTERS/Nathan FrandinoAnd amid increased withdrawals from other regional banks, U.S. officials are also keeping close watch on the wider sector. The S&P 500 regional banks index dropped 4.3% on Friday to end the week down 18%, its worst week since 2009. Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, PacWest Bank and Charles Schwab did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Friday's dramatic failure of the bank, which focuses on tech startups, was the biggest since the 2008 financial crisis. Even small startups are getting in on the action to help others. Aleem Mawani, founder of Streak, a company with about 30 employees, tweeted Friday he would lend his personal cash free of any terms to other small startups worried about paying staff. Some, including Lowercarbon Capital, have offered loans to portfolio companies that have funds stuck at SVB. Gurson estimated "conservatively" that Altman has given more than $1 million to support other startups in similar need.

☆ More than 110 VC firms, led by General Catalyst, are banding together in support of Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

More than 110 venture capital firms have signed a statement in support of Silicon Valley Bank. "Silicon Valley Bank has been a trusted and long-time partner to the venture capital industry and our founders," a joint statement from more than 110 firms reads. Hemant Taneja, the CEO of the VC firm General Catalyst, which led the effort to organize support for SVB, tweeted the statement on Friday evening. Alongside General Catalyst, 12 other firms signed the initial statement, including Accel, Greylock, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Upfront Ventures. Some VC firms, including Founders Fund, Y Combinator, and Union Square Ventures, advised their portfolio companies to pull the bulk of their funds out of the bank.

☆ A startup founder sat in an airplane bathroom trying to move his company's funds out of Silicon Valley Bank after its collapse. Here's how 7 other founders reacted to the bank's implosion.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( April Joyner | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by US regulators on Friday. It's been a chaotic day for the startup world following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. Insider spoke with eight startup founders about how they're responding to the crisis. Other founders weren't as fortunate: They still had their company's funds at Silicon Valley Bank as the FDIC announced it had taken control of the bank. A couple of early-stage founders told Insider they did not hold accounts with Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's collapse means startups and VCs face billions in losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SVB's startup and VC customers are staring down huge losses after its failure. A buyer is being sought for the failed bank by Monday to avoid more calamity for startups. SVB customers stare down big lossesIn a report on Friday, the ratings agency Moody's said it expected a recovery rate of 80% to 90% for uninsured depositors. While there were likely billions in deposits withdrawn prior to SVB's closure, there's still likely to be many billions left at risk. SVB's deposits soared in recent years as it became the go-to lender in the VC ecosystem.

☆ Hundreds of startups face a crippling cash crunch and an 'extinction-level event' if no one buys Silicon Valley Bank by Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse has left hundreds of startups facing a cash crunch and payroll crisis. It leaves hundreds of startups that deposited their cash with the bank in turmoil, as they try to continue operating while millions in funds are locked up. Startups scramble for cashThe need for startups to make payroll is one being echoed across the VC ecosystem. In a tweet, founder Nikita Bier said: "The number of growth stage companies that had their cash at SVB is huge. Even startups that didn't bank directly with SVB have been hit by its collapse.

☆ Popular kids' toy store Camp is begging customers for cash because its money is tied up in SVB. It's one of thousands of startups that now faces uncertainty.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Companies tied up in Silicon Valley Bank's orbit are feeling the sting of the bank's collapse. Camp, a venture-backed, interactive toy store with locations in New York, New Jersey, and California, is one such example. In an email to customers, CEO Ben Kaufman wrote they are "hopeful this will be resolved soon." Silicon Valley Bank officially shut down on Friday, with financial regulators taking control of its deposits. "If these startups wait weeks/months for their deposits, we have destroyed a generation of US startups, *at random.

☆ SVB extends 2-day plunge to 86% on report it will seek a sale after failing to raise capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The bank failed to complete its $2.3 billion capital raise and is now seeking a sale, according to CNBC. The news comes amid fears of , with several VCs advising their portfolio companies to pull money from the bank. SVB Financial saw a surge in deposits in 2020 and 2021 as valuations for speculative tech and start-up companies soared. The crash in SVB Financial on Thursday dragged down the entire banking sector, and now fears of contagion risk are starting to grow. Shares of SVB Financial were off 95% from its November 2021 record-high of $763.22, with shares trading at about $35 in pre-market trading on Friday.

Silicon Valley Bank's stock price plummeted Tuesday after it announced it would sell fresh shares. Founders who bank with SVB say they're not yet worried and are calling for calm. As a meltdown unfolds at Silicon Valley Bank, startup founders who bank with the storied institution are calling for calm. "They are the go-to bank for Silicon Valley. In essence, a bank run -- Silicon Valley style.

Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by regulators on Friday. The news has made startup founders worried that they won't be able to pay their employees next week. Startup founders still reeling from Silicon Valley Bank's implosion have something new to stress about: whether they'll be able to access enough money to cut employee paychecks next week. "Lots of startups are missing payroll in 2-4 weeks if a) Silicon Valley Bank doesn't have the deposits b) SVB doesn't get sold or c) SVB isn't rescued." "If you're a startup founder dealing with this, I'm here to help any way I can," Ayush Sharma, founder and CEO of payroll and compliance startup Warp, tweeted.

☆ Y Combinator's Garry Tan estimates hundreds of startups will be unable to make payroll after SVB closure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailY Combinator's Garry Tan estimates hundreds of startups will be unable to make payroll after SVB closureGarry Tan, Y Combinator CEO, joins 'Closing Bell: Overtime' to discuss the ripple effect on business with deposits in Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ OpenAI's 37-year-old CEO bet $180 million on a little-known biotech startup that's trying to help people live 10 years longer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

According to a report by MIT Technology Review, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is among the group. Altman has quietly funded a longevity startup with $180 million, MIT Technology Review said. The latest addition to the group is Sam Altman, the 37-year-old CEO of the red-hot AI startup OpenAI. Altman quietly backed a mysterious longevity startup called Retro Biosciences with $180 million of his own funds, according to a report in MIT Technology Review. "The main thing for Retro is to be a really good bio startup, because that is a rare thing," Altman told MIT Technology Review.

☆ Sam Altman gave us ChatGPT. Now he wants us to defy death.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sam Altman put $180 million into Retro Biosciences, a company that aims to delay death by 10 years. Altman's interest in longevity research dates back at least eight years, per the MIT Technology Review. I basically just took all my liquid net worth and put it into these two companies," Altman told the MIT Technology Review. According to the MIT Technology Review, Altman has been interested in anti-aging methods for years. Altman told the MIT Technology Review that the success of this experiment was something he "didn't expect."

☆ A former AncestryDNA exec launched a startup to 'put an end to allergies.' Here's the pitch deck he used to raise $16.5 million from investors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Nectar just raised $16.5 million from Harmony Partners, Juxtapose, and Obvious Ventures. The allergy startup was founded by former AncestryDNA executive Kenneth Chahine. The startup just raised a $16.5 million Series A funding round led by Harmony Ventures. They include Y Combinator alum Wyndly, which is expanding access to allergy drops, and Allermi, which prescribes customized allergy sprays. Check out the 34-slide presentation Nectar used to raise its $16.5 million Series A:

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